101

ASHES

Ashes

of dead things, forgotten grievances,

inexpressible encounters, soundless

sighs;

vivid

flames from you assault me as from one

anxiety to the next I near the thresholds

of sleep;

and it’s into sleep,

with those impassioned, tender ties

mother and child have, and into you ashes

I melt.

Anguish

lies in wait at the pass, I disarm it. Like

a blessed soul on the road to paradise,

I climb a staircase, stop at a door where

I rang in other times. Time

has suddenly collapsed.

I feel,

with the clothes and the soul that I had then,

in a blaze of lightning; on my heart

a joy descends whirling

like the end.

But I don’t cry out.

Soundlessly

I leave for the immense empire of shadows.